A spotlight on this fantasyland that is Georgia

Atlanta Sports

Sports in and around Atlanta

Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons first saw its light in June 30, 1965, the time which will always be remembered as both a termination and a commencement in the history of Atlanta sports. It was during that time that the football team began a storied tenure in the National Football League (NFL).

The person responsible for the birth of Atlanta Falcons was actually Rankin Smith, a young insurance executive. He paid $8.5 million for the franchise which was awarded by the American Football League to a group of Atlanta businessmen on June 7, 1965, provided that they could get exclusive football rights to the new Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Smith immediately endeared himself to the fanatics of football by asking a choice rhetorical question at a press conference following his acquisition of the franchise: “Doesn’t every adult male in America want to own his own football team?” With such a great deal, he is indeed capable of dreams.

By the time Smith got back to his insurance office 24 hours after acquiring the franchise, there had been 1,000 phone calls for tickets. And, by August, when a contest was completed which resulted in the nickname Falcons, a few of the avid junkies even had come to blows in defense of what they believed their adopted team should be called. Numerous individuals have actually suggested the name “Falcons” in a contest, but it was only the school teacher from nearby Griffin, Miss Julia Elliott, who was chosen as the winner of her reason which goes this way: “The falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops prey. It is deadly and as a great sporting tradition.”

The Atlanta Falcons recorded their first victory on August 27, 1966 in Columbia, South Carolina when they defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 24-27, in a preseason game. It was also during that year that the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was built and the people in Atlanta felt the time was ripe to start pursuing professional football.

The Atlanta Falcons played their first regular season game at home in September 11, 1966, losing to the Los Angeles Rams, 19-14. However, the Atlanta Falcons team didn’t have a winning season until 1971, when they went 7-6-1. As the Atlanta Falcons’ records reveal, the team’s best period was the six-year stretch between 1977 and 1982, under Leeman Bennett. It is further interesting to know that the 1998 season was the Atlanta Falcons’ best ever. That time, they went 14-2 and won the NFC championship. Unexpectedly, the Denver Broncos beat them, 34-19, in the Super Bowl.

A new chapter in the history of the Atlanta Falcons started on the 6th day of December 2001. It was actually on that day that Arthur M. Blank, the co-founder and retired co-chairman on Atlanta-based Home Depot, reached a preliminary agreement with the Atlanta Falcons’ owner Taylor Smith to purchase the team. In February of 2002, the NFL approved the sale of the franchise for $545 million. 88 percent of the team owned by the Smith family was bought. And, Blank said that he also planned to purchase the remaining 12 percent of the team, which was split between two owners.

Where to Buy Atlanta Falcons Ticket

In the history of the National Football League, the name Atlanta Falcons topped the list of the famous teams. The team is well-known throughout the country and the world for its great plays and since the 2003 season, a lot has changed for the Atlanta Falcons. It is interesting to know that first they have now a healthy Michael Vick. Second, they have a new coach in the person of Jim Mora Jr. These two personalities are the only hopes of the team, and overall the sales of the Atlanta Falcons tickets.

Speaking of Atlanta Falcons Tickets, it is worth noting that the tickets for the Atlanta Falcons games are now available anywhere, whether online or offline. As you may know, there are a lot of sites out there on the web and people out there on the physical world who buy and sell Atlanta Falcons tickets. However, finding these subjects are somewhat difficult especially if you don’t know where to look for them. So, for your own benefit, I have mentioned below three possible ways to purchase an Atlanta Falcons ticket.

Purchase Atlanta Falcons Tickets from a Ticket Broker

For your information, a ticket broker basically buys tickets from a number of different season ticket holders, including those individuals who get tickets when they go on sale. The broker then resells these tickets at an increased price for the purpose of mirroring the costs in obtaining the tickets. Perhaps you have heard about the ticket broker and the scalper. Well, the difference between them lies on the fact that the brokers generally maintain an office where they can be reached during normal business hours and assure that the tickets are not counterfeit and on seat location. They also maintain a good customer relationship with their clients, plus the fact that a lot of them are licensed and members of the reputable organizations. Just note that scalpers do not have offices where they can be reached, and most of them are not licensed. But, before buying an Atlanta Falcons ticket in particular, note that a good Atlanta Falcons ticket broker can help you get premium seats or tickets for the sold out events.

Purchase Atlanta Falcons Tickets from Individuals

As you may know, there are a lot of individuals today who sell tickets for the Atlanta Falcons games. However, it is necessary to check first the current listings for the available tickets to the upcoming Atlanta Falcons games to make sure that you are really taking the right seat. Also, individuals who sell Atlanta Falcons ticket can now be found even online as many of them have posted tickets for sale on a number of sites.

Purchase Atlanta Falcons Tickets from Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster is in the first place a well-known online ticket resource for sports, concert and all other major events. The Atlanta Falcons tickets at this particular portal are sold at face value plus convenience charge, which generally depend on tickets. However, they can be more than $15 depending on the initial cost of the Atlanta Falcon ticket.

Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks is one of the popular names in the history of Atlanta sports, particularly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is an Atlanta-based NBA team that has been playing for championships and has garnered several titles for their excellence.

The Atlanta Hawks franchise was first formed in 1946 as the Tri-City Blackhawks of the National Basketball League. This name was after its being based in the tri-city area between Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. The team reached the playoffs in the NBA’s inaugural year the time when the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA. And, that time the Blackhawks led by coach Red Auerbach had a very successful year.

In 1951, the Atlanta Hawks moved to Milwaukee and it there where they became the Hawks. It was in the 1953 when the Atlanta Hawks drafted Bob Pettit, who is a future NBA MVP. In spite of this, the Hawks were one of the league’s worst team, and it was in the year 1955 when they relocated again, this time to St. Louis, Missouri.

In the new location, the Atlanta Hawks acquired several titles in the draft and free agency, making them one of the league’s top teams. They advanced to the NBA finals in 1957, but they lose their title on that game against the Boston Celtics. Again, in 1958, the team advanced to the NBA finals under the coaching of Alex Hannum, and it was that time when they captured their only NBA Championship in game 6 against the Celtics.

For the next decade, the Hawks remained one of NBA’s premier teams, and in 1960, under the coaching of Ed Macauley, they advanced to the Finals yet again, but lost again to the Celtics in another game seven thriller. However, the following year saw the rise of the Atlanta Hawks again when they acquired the rookie Lenny Wilkens, but still they met the Celtics in the Finals again and lost in five games.

Following their rise and fall was the years when the Atlanta Hawks remained contenders, every year advancing deep into the playoffs and also garnering a number of division titles. In 1968, under the management of new owners Thomas Cousins and Carl Sanders, the team moved to Atlanta, Georgia. They won a division championship and advanced to the Finals again, but after this period of success, they experienced a few years of rebuilding. It is worth noting that the team had all losing records in those years and never advanced past the first round of the playoffs.

In 1977, the franchise was bought by Ted Turner, the Atlanta Braves owner, and it was him who hired Hubie Brown as the head coach. They finished with 50 wins and won the Central Division in 1979, and in 1982 they franchise acquired superstar Dominique Wilkins. With Wilkins in the team, the Atlanta Hawks had acquired more than 50 victories in the next four seasons. Lenny Wilkens was hired as a coach in 1993 and it was from that year until 1994 that the team finished 57 victories, which is a team record. This record was broken in 1995 when the team led by Wilkens acquired the victory number 939.

In recent years, the Atlanta Hawks has struggled, yet becoming one of the league’s worst teams. It was sold to a group of executives by the name Atlanta Spirit LLC by Time Warner with which the Hawks share the Philips arena. After the change in ownership, the Atlanta Hawks continued to struggle and that remains until now.

The Atlanta Thrashers

Notice – the Thrashers are no longer an Atlanta team but they have strong history here so I wanted to include them. They now call Winnipeg home

The Atlanta Thrashers is one of the famous names in the history of hockey. The Thrashers are actually a National Hockey League (NHL) team that is based in Philips Arena in the city Atlanta, Georgia. They have played a lot of hockey championships in Atlanta and the world and greatly won several titles. Today, the Atlanta Thrashers are a name worthy of fame.

The Franchise History

The Atlanta Thrashers are actually one of the National Hockey League’s newest teams. The origin of the group can be traced back to the time when Atlanta was awarded an NHL franchise in 1997 to replace the Atlanta Flames, which left for Calgary in 1980 and became the Calgary Flames. The newly formed team first selected Patrik Stefan with their first number-one draft pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, and it was in October 2, 1999 that they have played their first game and lost 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils.

In September 2003, the Atlanta Thrashers was sold to a group of executives by Time Warner, along with the Atlanta Hawks, a professional basketball team. From then on, the Atlanta Thrashers shared the arena with the Hawks. That same month, an unforgettable tragedy happened when the star forward Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari in a one-car accident that seriously injured Heatley and killed the Atlanta Thrasher’s center Dan Snyder, who was then a passenger in the car. Because of that accident, the Thrashers dedicated their 2003-2004 NHL season to Snyder’s memory. During that season, the team wore black patches with Snyder’s number, 37, on their jerseys.

In their short history, the Atlanta Thrashers have actually never made the playoffs. Their best season so far was the 2003-2004 NHL season where out of 82 games, they won 33, lost 37, tied 8 and had overtime losses in four games.

The Atlanta Thrashers today play in the Southeast Division of the NHL’s Eastern Conference, and they are currently coached by Bob Hartley. It is interesting to know that the team name and logo came from the brown thrasher, the state bird of Georgia.

Recap of the 2003-2004 NHL Season

In the history of the Atlanta Thrashers, the 2003-2004 NHL season was by the far the most successful. The team was then led by captain Shawn McEachern, and with the memory of Dan Snyder on their mind, they jumped quickly out of the gates with some notable highlights. It is interesting to know that during that season, Ilya Kovalchuk scored 8 goals in the first 7 games, including two hat tricks, one in a 7-2 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks, and another in a come from behind victory against the Nashville Predators. Also, come from behind victories became a standard sight throughout the season, including the team’s wins from games against the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders, as well as the shocking upsets against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators, and the Boston Bruins, among others.

While clearly the Atlanta Thrashers playoffs hope were done for that year, they still played on and ended up finishing second in the Southeast Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference, only a handful of wins away from the playoffs. And, despite the tragedy that happened to their teammate Dan Snyder, the Atlanta Thrashers moved on and ended up doing relatively well, and their future certainly looks bright.